Acts 13:1-27  Because They Knew Him not They Have Fulfilled the Scriptures in Condemning Christ

[Study Aired April 23, 2023]

Act 13:1  Now there were in the church that was at Antioch certain prophets and teachers; as Barnabas, and Simeon that was called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaen, which had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul.
Act 13:2  As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them.
Act 13:3  And when they had fasted and prayed, and laid their hands on them, they sent them away.
Act 13:4  So they, being sent forth by the Holy Ghost, departed unto Seleucia; and from thence they sailed to Cyprus.
Act 13:5  And when they were at Salamis, they preached the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews: and they had also John to their minister.
Act 13:6  And when they had gone through the isle unto Paphos, they found a certain sorcerer, a false prophet, a Jew, whose name was Barjesus:
Act 13:7  Which was with the deputy of the country, Sergius Paulus, a prudent man; who called for Barnabas and Saul, and desired to hear the word of God.
Act 13:8  But Elymas the sorcerer (for so is his name by interpretation) withstood them, seeking to turn away the deputy from the faith.
Act 13:9  Then Saul, (who also is called Paul,) filled with the Holy Ghost, set his eyes on him,
Act 13:10  And said, O full of all subtilty and all mischief, thou child of the devil, thou enemy of all righteousness, wilt thou not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord?
Act 13:11  And now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon thee, and thou shalt be blind, not seeing the sun for a season. And immediately there fell on him a mist and a darkness; and he went about seeking some to lead him by the hand.
Act 13:12  Then the deputy, when he saw what was done, believed, being astonished at the doctrine of the Lord.
Act 13:13  Now when Paul and his company loosed from Paphos, they came to Perga in Pamphylia: and John departing from them returned to Jerusalem.
Act 13:14  But when they departed from Perga, they came to Antioch in Pisidia, and went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and sat down.
Act 13:15  And after the reading of the law and the prophets the rulers of the synagogue sent unto them, saying, Ye men and brethren, if ye have any word of exhortation for the people, say on.
Act 13:16  Then Paul stood up, and beckoning with his hand said, Men of Israel, and ye that fear God, give audience.
Act 13:17  The God of this people of Israel chose our fathers, and exalted the people when they dwelt as strangers in the land of Egypt, and with an high arm brought he them out of it.
Act 13:18  And about the time of forty years suffered he their manners in the wilderness.
Act 13:19  And when he had destroyed seven nations in the land of Chanaan, he divided their land to them by lot.
Act 13:20  And after that he gave unto them judges about the space of four hundred and fifty years, until Samuel the prophet.
Act 13:21  And afterward they desired a king: and God gave unto them Saul the son of Cis, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, by the space of forty years.
Act 13:22  And when he had removed him, he raised up unto them David to be their king; to whom also he gave testimony, and said, I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after mine own heart, which shall fulfil all my will.
Act 13:23  Of this man’s seed hath God according to his promise raised unto Israel a Saviour, Jesus:
Act 13:24  When John had first preached before his coming the baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel.
Act 13:25  And as John fulfilled his course, he said, Whom think ye that I am? I am not he. But, behold, there cometh one after me, whose shoes of his feet I am not worthy to loose.
Act 13:26  Men and brethren, children of the stock of Abraham, and whosoever among you feareth God, to you is the word of this salvation sent.
Act 13:27  For they that dwell at Jerusalem, and their rulers, because they knew him not, nor yet the voices of the prophets which are read every sabbath day, they have fulfilled them in condemning him.

Our study today will cover some of the events which occurred on the first missionary trip of Barnabas and Saul, which began shortly after the Passover season, which Barnabas and Saul had spent in Jerusalem, having been sent there to deliver a gift of relief from the church at Antioch. This 13th chapter begins by placing the name of Barnabas in the preeminent position and the name of Saul in the last position:

Act 13:1  Now there were in the church that was at Antioch certain prophets and teachers; as Barnabas, and Simeon that was called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaen, which had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul.

Notice that ‘Saul’ is mentioned last at this point. It was Barnabas who had brought Saul to Antioch, and at this point Barnabas is still more prominent than Saul. Barnabas’ name will precede Saul until Saul’s name is changed to ‘Paul’ later in this 13^th chapter of the Acts of the apostles.

Barnabas had been sent by the apostles in Jerusalem to minister in Syrian Antioch. When Barnabas arrived in Antioch, he saw how the holy spirit was working so well in the lives of those who were ministering to the people there so all he did was to encourage them to continue in the Lord.

Act 11:22  Then tidings of these things came unto the ears of the church which was in Jerusalem: and they sent forth Barnabas, that he should go as far as Antioch.
Act 11:23  Who, when he came, and had seen the grace of God, was glad, and exhorted them all, that with purpose of heart they would cleave unto the Lord.
Act 11:24  For he was a good man, and full of the Holy Ghost and of faith: and much people was added unto the Lord.

Let’s review the events which have led us up to this first missionary trip by Barnabas and Saul of Tarsus, beginning with Saul’s conversion just outside Damascus, a Gentile Syrian city:

Act 9:1  And Saul, yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went unto the high priest,
Act 9:2  And desired of him letters to Damascus to the synagogues, that if he found any of this way, whether they were men or women, he might bring them bound unto Jerusalem.
Act 9:3  And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven:
Act 9:4  And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?
Act 9:5  And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.
Act 9:6  And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do.

This is the story of Saul of Tarsus coming “out of Babylon” and out of the established church of his day. The Lord has already determined what each of us “must do”.

Here is how Paul relates this incident to the Jews who “went about to kill him” when he went up to Jerusalem for the last time (Acts 21:31):

Act 22:10  And I said, What shall I do, Lord? And the Lord said unto me, Arise, and go into Damascus; and there it shall be told thee of all things which are appointed for thee to do.

Our days are “written in [the Lord’s] book… before there are any of them”. Everything we do is “all things which are appointed for [us] to do”, because it is the Lord alone who is “working all things after the counsel of His own will”:

Psa 139:16  Thine eyes did see mine unformed substance; And in thy book they were all written, Even the days that were ordained for me, When as yet there was none of them.

Eph 1:11  In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:

Everything I did today, and everything you did today, was “ordained for [you and for me]… of all the things which are appointed for [us] to do”. So, it is for every day of our lives “when as yet there was none of them.”

This is the first account of any New Testament apostle being called into the Lord’s service outside of the physical nation of Israel. It was expedient that Christ must come of David’s physical seed before He could become the spiritual seed of David. He is now a spiritual body, and Saul’s calling took place outside physical Israel near the Gentile city of Damascus, Syria. The time for the calling of the Gentiles is come, and Saul is given no choice if he ever wants to see anything again… “Arise, and go into the city, [of Damascus] and it shall be told thee what thou must do”.

The Lord commands him to go into Damascus and wait at the home of a Jewish man named Judas on a street named Straight. About this same time the holy spirit is telling another Jew in Damascus, one who had been converted to the doctrines of Christ, to go to the home of Judas and pray for Saul to receive his sight and tell Saul what the Lord will do through him:

Act 9:7  And the men which journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice, but seeing no man.
Act 9:8  And Saul arose from the earth; and when his eyes were opened, he saw no man: but they led him by the hand, and brought him into Damascus.
Act 9:9  And he was three days without sight, and neither did eat nor drink.

The mighty ‘Saul of Tarsus’ is now in the process of “dying daily”, and it has literally taken his appetite, just as we all experience at this time in our walk with our Lord. Facing “the loss of all things” our old man wanted in this life just naturally and literally takes our physical appetite away from us for a season (Php 3:8).

Act 9:10  And there was a certain disciple at Damascus, named Ananias; and to him said the Lord in a vision, Ananias. And he said, Behold, I am here, Lord.
Act 9:11  And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the street which is called Straight, and enquire in the house of Judas for one called Saul, of Tarsus: for, behold, he prayeth,
Act 9:12  And hath seen in a vision a man named Ananias coming in, and putting his hand on him, that he might receive his sight.
Act 9:13  Then Ananias answered, Lord, I have heard by many of this man, how much evil he hath done to thy saints at Jerusalem:
Act 9:14  And here he hath authority from the chief priests to bind all that call on thy name.
Act 9:15  But the Lord said unto him, Go thy way: for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel: [Notice the order of things. The Gentiles are mentioned before ‘the children of Israel’]
Act 9:16  For I will shew him how great things he must suffer for my name’s sake.
Act 9:17  And Ananias went his way, and entered into the house; and putting his hands on him said, Brother Saul, the Lord, even Jesus, that appeared unto thee in the way as thou camest, hath sent me, that thou mightest receive thy sight, and be filled with the Holy Ghost.
Act 9:18  And immediately there fell from his eyes as it had been scales: and he received sight forthwith, and arose, and was baptized.

This is the very first person, other than Christ Himself who has the preeminence in everything, to be told he will be used by the holy spirit to take the gospel to the Gentiles. The next chapter, chapter ten, gives us the story of Peter while in Joppa, being told to preach the gospel in the house of a Gentile Roman Italian centurion named Cornelius. While in Cornelius’ house the Lord gave all those Gentiles the gift of the holy spirit while Peter was still speaking. Between these two irrefutable miraculous events, 1) the fact that the holy spirit had also at about the same time sent Peter to the home of the Gentile Roman centurion, Cornelius and 2) the miraculous conversion of Saul of Tarsus, and Saul being told by the Lord that He was sending him to the Gentiles, the apostles at Jerusalem had no choice but to acknowledge that the Lord had indeed granted the Gentiles repentance unto salvation:

Act 11:17  Forasmuch then as God gave them the like gift as he did unto us, who believed on the Lord Jesus Christ; what was I, that I could withstand God?
Act 11:18  When they heard these things, they held their peace, and glorified God, saying, Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life.

These events in the home of the Gentile Roman centurion were taking place while Saul of Tarsus was preaching Christ in Damascus for three years. Saul of Tarsus during those three years had never met a single apostle of our Lord. Yet he had met the Lord Himself just outside the city of Damascus, and during his three years at Damascus, Saul had gone into the wilderness of Sinai to hear words from Christ which were not yet lawful to be uttered and to learn the doctrines of Christ directly from Christ Himself.

Here are Paul’s own words:

Gal 1:17  Neither went I up to Jerusalem to [be taught by] them which were apostles before me; but I went into Arabia, and returned again unto Damascus.

Saul of Tarsus “went into Arabia” to learn from the Lord Himself exactly how the Lord wanted his gospel to be when he was given the gospel which he “preached… among the Gentiles”.

Here are the verses where Paul speaks of this time which was “above fourteen years ago”:

2Co 12:2  I knew a man in Christ above fourteen years ago, (whether in the body, I cannot tell; or whether out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;) such an one caught up to the third heaven.
2Co 12:3  And I knew such a man, (whether in the body, or out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;)
2Co 12:4  How that he was caught up into paradise, and heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter.

As we saw last week, the Greek word translated ‘unspeakable’ literally means ‘not said’, meaning that the doctrine of God speaking to and through Gentiles had never been said, because it would have been “unlawful for a man to utter” such words while living under the law of Moses, just as Peter informed those in Cornelius’s house:

Act 10:28  And he said unto them, Ye know how that it is an unlawful thing for a man that is a Jew to keep company, or come unto one of another nation; but God hath shewed me that I should not call any man common or unclean [words which until now were “not lawful for a man to utter” (2Co 12:14)].

Here is the Greek word translated ‘unspeakable’ in 2 Corinthians 12:14:

G731
ἄῤῥητος
arrhētos
ar’-hray-tos
From G1 (as a negative particle) and the same as G4490; unsaid, that is, (by implication) inexpressible: – unspeakable.

Here is the definition of G4490:

G4490
ῥητῶς
rhētōs
hray-toce’
Adverb from a derivative of G4483; outspokenly, that is, distinctly: – expressly.
Total KJV occurrences: 1

Both ‘arrhetos’ and ‘rhetos’ appear only once, and here is the one entry for this Greek word ‘rhetos’:

1Ti 4:1  Now the Spirit speaketh expressly  [G449: rhetos], that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;

Paul had not heard “unspeakable words”. What he had heard were words which had never before been articulated, and were not yet lawful to be articulated, just as Peter told Cornelius and those assembled in Cornelius’s house:

Act 10:28  And he said unto them, Ye know how that it is an unlawful thing for a man that is a Jew to keep company, or come unto one of another nation; but God hath shewed me [‘words never before lawful to be uttered’] that I should not call any man common or unclean.

Getting back to our review of the events leading up to this first missionary journey, Barnabas was apparently in Damascus when the great Saul of Tarsus came looking for people like Barnabas, who professed to believe in the resurrected Christ because he alone was able to tell the apostles at Jerusalem that Saul had been preaching Christ powerfully for three years in Damascus before the Jewish leaders of Damascus conspired to kill Saul:

Act 9:23  And after that many days were fulfilled, the Jews took counsel to kill him:
Act 9:24  But their laying await was known of Saul. And they watched the gates day and night to kill him.
Act 9:25  Then the disciples took him by night, and let him down by the wall in a basket.

When Saul is forced to flee for his life from Damascus, he then returns to Jerusalem for the first time since being given papers from the chief priest of Jerusalem which authorized him to bind the Christians in Damascus and bring them to Jerusalem, where Saul himself had three years earlier been “breathing out slaughter against the disciples of the Lord” (Act 9:1). Instead, he returns to Jerusalem three years later as a Christian convert hoping to be received by the apostles only to discover that they still fear him as an enemy of Christ:

Act 9:26  And when Saul was come to Jerusalem, he assayed to join himself to the disciples: but they were all afraid of him, and believed not that he was a disciple.
Act 9:27  But Barnabas took him, and brought him to the apostles, and declared unto them how he had seen the Lord in the way, and that he had spoken to him, and how he had preached boldly at Damascus in the name of Jesus.
Act 9:28  And he was with them coming in and going out at Jerusalem.

The only way Barnabas could do this was if he had been with Saul there in Damascus having already heard Saul telling the Jews of Damascus about “how he had seen the Lord in the way” and about the circumstances of his own conversion. It was Barnabas who “brought him to the apostles and declared unto them how [Saul]… had spoken to [the Lord] and that [Saul] had preached boldly at Damascus in the name of Jesus.”

The phrases “brought him to the apostles” and “he was with them coming in and going out at Jerusalem” would lead us to believe that Barnabas had brought Saul to all the apostles and declared to them all how Saul had seen the Lord in the way and how Saul had preached boldly at Damascus. However, the phrase “the apostles” is not the same as ‘all of the apostles’. The fact is that Paul was in Jerusalem a mere three weeks, and he met only “Peter and James the Lord’s brother” before he was once again forced to flee for his life from Jerusalem.

It is Paul himself who sets the record straight concerning who he met while in Jerusalem during those three weeks and who had been his Teacher:

Gal 1:11  For I make known to you, brethren, as touching the gospel which was preached by me, that it is not after man.
Gal 1:12  For neither did I receive it from man, nor was I taught it [by any man], but it came to me [directly] through revelation of Jesus Christ.
Gal 1:13  For ye have heard of my manner of life in time past in the Jews’ religion, how that beyond measure I persecuted the church of God, and made havoc of it:
Gal 1:14  and I advanced in the Jews’ religion beyond many of mine own age among my countrymen, being more exceedingly zealous for the traditions of my fathers.
Gal 1:15  But when it was the good pleasure of God, who separated me, even from my mother’s womb, and called me through his grace,
Gal 1:16  to reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him among the Gentiles; straightway I conferred not with flesh and blood:
Gal 1:17  neither went I up to Jerusalem to them that were apostles before me [Saul’s commission to go to the Gentiles did not come from the other apostles who were still struggling with such a revolutionary doctrine]: but I went away into Arabia; and again I returned unto Damascus.
Gal 1:18  Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to visit Cephas, and tarried with him fifteen days.
Gal 1:19  But other of the apostles saw I none, save James the Lord’s brother.
Gal 1:20  Now touching the things which I write unto you, behold, before God, I lie not.
Gal 1:21  Then I came unto the regions of Syria and Cilicia.
Gal 1:22  And I was still unknown by face unto the churches of Judaea which were in Christ:
Gal 1:23  but they only heard say, He that once persecuted us now preacheth the faith of which he once made havoc;
Gal 1:24  and they glorified God in me.

So Saul had been thirteen years in “the regions of Syria and Cilicia” when Barnabas came to Tarsus, a city of Cilicia, seeking Saul to take him back to the huge city of Syrian Antioch to help Barnabas and the other  preachers and teachers there in Antioch “for a whole year” minister to the growing number of Christians there in that city before being sent with Barnabas and Titus up to Jerusalem to deliver some relief from the church in Antioch to the starving saints in Jerusalem.

Act 11:25  And he [Barnabas] went forth to Tarsus to seek for Saul;
Act 11:26  and when he had found him, he brought him unto Antioch. And it came to pass, that even for a whole year they were gathered together with the church, and taught much people, and that the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch.

This “whole year” of ministering to the church in Antioch, began 13 years after Saul had fled Jerusalem because Paul tells us that when he and Barnabas took the relief from the church at Antioch up to Jerusalem, that trip to Jerusalem was “fourteen years… after” he had been forced to leave Jerusalem after spending three weeks with Peter and meeting after meeting only one other of the apostles, which was “James the Lord’s brother”.

Gal 2:1  Then after the space of fourteen years I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, taking Titus also with me.

What this tells us is that Paul had come to know Titus before he and Barnabas took their first missionary journey with John Mark, because at the time they took the relief from Antioch up to the saints in Jerusalem, they had not yet begun their first missionary journey, which is the topic of our study today:

This all brings us to time of the beginning of the first missionary journey of Barnabas and Saul:

Act 13:2  As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, [having just returned to Antioch from Jerusalem] the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them.
Act 13:3  And when they had fasted and prayed, and laid their hands on them, they sent them away.

We are told “they… departed unto Seleucia” a seacoast city slightly south and west of Syrian Antioch. They may well have ministered in the synagogues of Seleucia, but we are not told of anything they may have done there. It is almost as if they simply passed through that city on their way to Cyprus, the homeland of Barnabas:

Act 13:4  So they, being sent forth by the Holy Ghost, departed unto Seleucia; and from thence they sailed to Cyprus.
Act 13:5  And when they were at Salamis, they preached the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews: and they had also John to their minister.

This ‘John’ is “John whose surname was Mark”, to whose house Peter had gone when the angel delivered him out of the prison:

Act 12:12  And when he had considered the thing [the miracle of his deliverance from the prison], he came to the house of Mary the mother of John, whose surname was Mark; where many were gathered together praying.

This is the same ‘John’ whom Barnabas and Saul took back to Antioch with them right after Peter had been delivered from prison while Barnabas and Saul were right there in Jerusalem during “the days of unleavened bread” when Barnabas and Saul had been sent to Jerusalem with a gift for the poor saints suffering from a great drought in Jerusalem:

Act 12:25  And Barnabas and Saul returned from Jerusalem, when they had fulfilled their ministry [of delivering the gift from the church at Antioch], and took with them John, whose surname was Mark.

It was at this time that Paul shared with the other apostles the message the Lord had given him to preach to the Gentiles:

Gal 2:2  And I went up by revelation, and communicated unto them that gospel which I preach among the Gentiles, but privately to them which were of reputation, lest by any means I should run, or had run, in vain.

“Lest by any means I should run, or had run, in vain” in no way indicates that Paul doubted the authority of the Lord’s words to Him. What Paul is saying, as the following verses demonstrate, is that he wants to let the other apostles know that there are many false prophets who are saying slanderous things about Paul, and it is needful that they be aware of what the adversary is doing to divide the body of Christ. The fact that Titus was not required to be circumcised demonstrates to these Galatians, and to all of us, that Paul and the other apostles were on the same page:

Gal 2:3  But neither Titus, who was with me, being a Greek, was compelled to be circumcised:
Gal 2:4  And that because of false brethren unawares brought in, who came in privily to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, that they might bring us into bondage:
Gal 2:5  To whom we gave place by subjection, no, not for an hour; that the truth of the gospel might continue with you.

These words here in Galatians 2 were delivered to the apostles Barnabas and Saul met fourteen years after Paul had fled Jerusalem, while Barnabas and Saul were in Jerusalem witnessing the death of the apostle James, the brother of John, at the hands of King Herod, and the apprehension and miraculous delivery of Peter from prison, and then a few days later, the death by worms of King Herod.

It is only after telling the apostles of “the false brethren brought in” and witnessing all these things that Barnabas and Saul then return to Antioch and prepare for their first missionary journey:

Act 12:23  And immediately the angel of the Lord smote him [King Herod], because he gave not God the glory: and he was eaten of worms, and gave up the ghost.
Act 12:24  But the word of God grew and multiplied.
Act 12:25  And Barnabas and Saul returned from Jerusalem, when they had fulfilled their ministry, and took with them John, whose surname was Mark.

We will now continue with the events of the first missionary journey after the return of Barnabas and Saul from Jerusalem:

Act 13:6  And when they had gone through the isle unto Paphos, they found a certain sorcerer, a false prophet, a Jew, whose name was Barjesus:

“When they had gone through the isle” tells us they did so on foot and not by sea. It is in Paphos that the “the deputy of the country… called for Barnabas and Saul…”

Act 13:7  Which [“false prophet, a Jew, whose name was Barjesus”] was with the deputy of the country, Sergius Paulus, a prudent man; who called for Barnabas and Saul, and desired to hear the word of God.
Act 13:8  But Elymas the sorcerer (for so is his name by interpretation) withstood them, seeking to turn away the deputy from the faith.
Act 13:9  Then Saul, (who also is called Paul,) filled with the Holy Ghost, set his eyes on him,
Act 13:10  And said, O full of all subtilty and all mischief, thou child of the devil, thou enemy of all righteousness, wilt thou not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord?

The Lord Himself, for His own purposes, gave to Saul (which name means ‘desired’) and whose name here is changed to ‘Paul’, meaning ‘small’, with no explanation, to call out and punish Elymas for attempting “to turn away the deputy from The Truth.” We may or may not be given the opportunity to deal with an individual in this manner, but we all deal with the false doctrines in this very same way every time we shine the light of the Lord’s words upon the darkness of all the false doctrines of Babylon. We should never shun the opportunity to do just that, and we should be very careful never to allow the fear of men to supersede our fear of the Lord and our love of Him and His Truth. There will always be the tendency in our nature to want to fit in with society and in so doing deny our Lord while we justify our spineless ways, telling ourselves we are just being loving and inclusive. We should never go out looking for a fight, but when confronted with an adversary such as Elymas and his false doctrines, like Paul we, too, must be bold in calling a spade a spade and letting our yea be yea and our nay, nay:

Mat 5:37  But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil.

Jas 5:12  But above all things, my brethren, swear not, neither by heaven, neither by the earth, neither by any other oath: but let your yea be yea; and your nay, nay; lest ye fall into condemnation.

Christ, Paul, and James all spoke “as one having authority and not as the scribes”, and so should all of us:

Mat 7:28  And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine:
Mat 7:29  For he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.

Act 13:11  And now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon thee, and thou shalt be blind, not seeing the sun for a season. And immediately there fell on him a mist and a darkness; and he went about seeking some to lead him by the hand.
Act 13:12  Then the deputy, when he saw what was done, believed, being astonished at the doctrine of the Lord.

It is the things we do, more than the things we say, which will astonish and convert others. When we say and do not, we are actually guilty of blaspheming the name of God:

Rom 2:22  Thou that sayest a man should not commit adultery, dost thou commit adultery? thou that abhorrest idols, dost thou commit sacrilege?
Rom 2:23  Thou that makest thy boast of the law, through breaking the law dishonourest thou God?
Rom 2:24  For the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles through you, as it is written.
Rom 2:25  For circumcision verily profiteth, if thou keep the law: but if thou be a breaker of the law, thy circumcision is made uncircumcision.
Rom 2:26  Therefore if the uncircumcision keep the righteousness of the law, shall not his uncircumcision be counted for circumcision?

Act 13:13  Now when Paul and his company loosed from Paphos, they came to Perga in Pamphylia: and John departing from them returned to Jerusalem.

This story of John forsaking the ministry is written for our admonition. The ministry of Christ is not something you take up and put down lightly. John Mark was a young man who had apparently grown weary in well doing and wanted to go back home to Jerusalem instead of walking for many miles just to hear Barnabas and Saul speak of Christ in the synagogues of all the cities they visited. He had been brought along to minister to these two ministers, and it simply overwhelmed him in his youth just as our own calling overwhelms each of us at our own appointed time. This incident will cause Paul and Barnabas to go their own ways after the Jerusalem conference while planning their second journey after returning to Antioch. Paul is not willing to take the chance for John leaving them again and ends up taking Silas with him, while Barnabas is content to trust that John Mark will not leave him this time around.

Act 15:36  And some days after [returning to Antioch from Jerusalem] Paul said unto Barnabas, Let us go again and visit our brethren in every city where we have preached the word of the Lord, and see how they do.
Act 15:37  And Barnabas determined to take with them John, whose surname was Mark.
Act 15:38  But Paul thought not good to take him with them, who departed from them from Pamphylia, and went not with them to the work.
Act 15:39  And the contention was so sharp between them, that they departed asunder one from the other: and so Barnabas took Mark, and sailed unto Cyprus;
Act 15:40  And Paul chose Silas, and departed, being recommended by the brethren unto the grace of God.
Act 15:41  And he went through Syria and Cilicia, confirming the churches.

In time, even Paul sees the progress John Mark has made and says that he is useful to him for the ministry:

2Ti 4:9  Do thy diligence to come shortly unto me:
2Ti 4:10  For Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world, and is departed unto Thessalonica; Crescens to Galatia, Titus unto Dalmatia.
2Ti 4:11  Only Luke is with me. Take Mark, and bring him with thee: for he is profitable to me for the ministry.

When Mark left them, Paul and Barnabas continued their journey. From the time Saul of Tarsus confronted the false prophet Elymas, and we are told that Saul “is called Paul”, from that point on Paul’s name precedes the name of Barnabas:

Act 13:14  But when they departed from Perga, they came to Antioch in Pisidia, and went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and sat down.
Act 13:15  And after the reading of the law and the prophets the rulers of the synagogue sent unto them, saying, Ye men and brethren, if ye have any word of exhortation for the people, say on.
Act 13:16  Then Paul stood up, and beckoning with his hand said, Men of Israel, and ye that fear God, give audience.
Act 13:17  The God of this people of Israel chose our fathers, and exalted the people when they dwelt as strangers in the land of Egypt, and with an high arm brought he them out of it.
Act 13:18  And about the time of forty years suffered he their manners in the wilderness.
Act 13:19  And when he had destroyed seven nations in the land of Chanaan, he divided their land to them by lot.
Act 13:20  And after that he gave unto them judges about the space of four hundred and fifty years, until Samuel the prophet.
Act 13:21  And afterward they desired a king: and God gave unto them Saul the son of Cis, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, by the space of forty years.
Act 13:22  And when he had removed him, he raised up unto them David to be their king; to whom also he gave testimony, and said, I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after mine own heart, which shall fulfil all my will.
Act 13:23  Of this man’s seed hath God according to his promise raised unto Israel a Saviour, Jesus:

When Paul says, “of this man’s seed hath God according to His promise raised unto Israel a Savior, Jesus”, Paul is speaking in physical terms. The point is that not every word of God is meant to be taken in a spiritual sense because our natural understanding must precede our spiritual understanding:

1Co 15:45  And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a [physical, natural] living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.
1Co 15:46  Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual.

The word “afterward” demonstrates the importance of knowing the order in which the Lord is performing His promises to mankind. Just as the first man Adam had to precede the last Adam, so also there must be an outward kingdom of God ruling all the nations of this world, before God will be all in all.

Paul understands the necessity of knowing the order of the Lord’s works so he gives us a summary of the history of the nation of Israel to let us see that God is doing exactly what He said He would do for His people:

Act 13:24  When John had first preached before his coming the baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel.
Act 13:25  And as John fulfilled his course, he said, Whom think ye that I am? I am not he. But, behold, there cometh one after me, whose shoes of his feet I am not worthy to loose.
Act 13:26  Men and brethren, children of the stock of Abraham, and whosoever among you feareth God, to you is the word of this salvation sent.
Act 13:27  For they that dwell at Jerusalem, and their rulers, because they knew him not, nor yet the voices of the prophets which are read every sabbath day, they have fulfilled them in condemning him.

We will stop here for today, but it must be pointed out that Paul always begins his witness to every synagogue with the assumption that those to whom he is speaking already know the entire story of the birth and ministry of John the Baptist, and the fact that John said the Messiah was Christ. His appeal to the people is that only those who “know the voices of the prophets” will know the voice of Christ.

I hope also that I have made it clear that this trip to Jerusalem by Barnabas and Saul with the relief from the church at Antioch is the trip to Jerusalem Paul refers to in Galatians. Paul shared the details of his ministry with the apostles at this time, which was “fourteen years after” he had fled Jerusalem and gone back home to Tarsus. I hope we all see that the events of this thirteenth chapter, chronicling the history of their first missionary journey, take place well before the trip to the Jerusalem conference concerning the question of whether Gentiles must be circumcised. It is after that Jerusalem conference that Paul and Barnabas separate over whether to take John Mark with them on a second missionary journey.

It helps us to know the Lord’s mind much better when we know the order in which He is working with His people.

[Study Aired February 12, 2023]

Act 8:1  And Saul was consenting unto his death. And at that time there was a great persecution against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judaea and Samaria, except the apostles.
Act 8:2  And devout men carried Stephen to his burial, and made great lamentation over him.
Act 8:3  As for Saul, he made havock of the church, entering into every house, and haling men and women committed them to prison.
Act 8:4  Therefore they that were scattered abroad went every where preaching the word.
Act 8:5  Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria, and preached Christ unto them.
Act 8:6  And the people with one accord gave heed unto those things which Philip spake, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did.
Act 8:7  For unclean spirits, crying with loud voice, came out of many that were possessed with them: and many taken with palsies, and that were lame, were healed.
Act 8:8  And there was great joy in that city.
Act 8:9  But there was a certain man, called Simon, which beforetime in the same city used sorcery, and bewitched the people of Samaria, giving out that himself was some great one:
Act 8:10  To whom they all gave heed, from the least to the greatest, saying, This man is the great power of God.
Act 8:11  And to him they had regard, because that of long time he had bewitched them with sorceries.
Act 8:12  But when they believed Philip preaching the things concerning the kingdom of God, and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women.
Act 8:13  Then Simon himself believed also: and when he was baptized, he continued with Philip, and wondered, beholding the miracles and signs which were done.
Act 8:14  Now when the apostles which were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent unto them Peter and John:
Act 8:15  Who, when they were come down, prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Ghost:
Act 8:16  (For as yet he was fallen upon none of them: only they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.)
Act 8:17  Then laid they their hands on them, and they received the Holy Ghost.
Act 8:18  And when Simon saw that through laying on of the apostles’ hands the Holy Ghost was given, he offered them money,
Act 8:19  Saying, Give me also this power, that on whomsoever I lay hands, he may receive the Holy Ghost.
Act 8:20  But Peter said unto him, Thy money perish with thee, because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money.

In our last study, Stephen had been stoned to death and became the first Christian to die for His faith in Christ. That stoning was supervised by a young man named Saul:

Act 7:58  and they cast him out of the city, and stoned him: and the witnesses laid down their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul.

This chapter begins by pointing out that the young man, Saul, consented to Stephen’s death, and then we are informed that the church came under great persecution at the time of Stephen’s stoning:

Act 8:1  And Saul was consenting unto his death. And at that time there was a great persecution against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judaea and Samaria, except the apostles.

The whole church was still all Jewish and was still believing that physical Israel was God’s chosen nation. The first question they asked after Christ’s resurrection reveals that they believed Christ would very soon appear in power and deliver physical Israel from her Roman oppressors and establish physical Israel as the chief nation on earth. There was yet no concept of a spiritual seed of Abraham which included the Gentiles. This question reveals just how spiritually immature the apostles themselves were at the time of the resurrection of Christ:

Act 1:3  To whom also he shewed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God:
Act 1:4  And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me.
Act 1:5  For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.
Act 1:6  When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?

The apostles were not yet given the understanding of the things of the spirit, and when Christ spoke to them “of things pertaining to the kingdom of God”, they were conflating “the kingdom of God” with the carnal nation of physical Israel.

These Christians who “were all scattered abroad” were not yet scattered beyond Israel. They were scattered “throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria”, and the apostles themselves were not scattered at all. They were all still in Jerusalem, still believing that physical Jerusalem was to be the capital of the coming kingdom of God they had been commissioned to proclaim:

Luk 8:1  And it came to pass afterward, that he went throughout every city and village, preaching and shewing the glad tidings of the kingdom of God: and the twelve were with him,

Luk 9:1  Then he called his twelve disciples together, and gave them power and authority over all devils, and to cure diseases.
Luk 9:2  And he sent them to preach the kingdom of God, and to heal the sick.

Luk 9:60  Jesus said unto him, Let the dead bury their dead: but go thou and preach the kingdom of God.

When the Pharisees had asked Christ about this coming kingdom, He had told them that His kingdom was an inward kingdom, but neither the Pharisees nor His disciples had a spiritual bone in their bodies at that time, and they were still looking for a physical kingdom:

Luk 17:20  And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation:
Luk 17:21  Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.

Christ certainly was not telling the Pharisees that the kingdom of God was within them. What He was saying is that the kingdom of God is within those it is within.

In the very next verse He is speaking to His disciples, and if any of us had heard these words with no spiritual insights we, too, would have been led to believe that soon after His death and resurrection the kingdom of God would come to this earth:

Luk 17:22  And he said unto the disciples, The days will come, when ye shall desire to see one of the days of the Son of man, and ye shall not see it.
Luk 17:23  And they shall say to you, See here; or, see there: go not after them, nor follow them.
Luk 17:24  For as the lightning, that lighteneth out of the one part under heaven, shineth unto the other part under heaven; so shall also the Son of man be in his day.
Luk 17:25  But first must he suffer many things, and be rejected of this generation.

It is true that Christ did not say, “Immediately after I suffer many things and immediately after I am rejected of this generation the Son of Man will appear to establish His kingdom as the lightning lightens out of one part under heaven and shines unto the other part under heaven; so shall also the Son of man be in his day.” His words would certainly lead one to believe that His kingdom was imminent. Indeed, His kingdom did come on the day of Pentecost when the holy spirit for the first time ever entered into and took up residence within the one hundred and twenty people who were in the upper room on that day. However, even after the holy spirit had come into the disciples, it would still be several years before they understood that being a physical Jew without Christ did not make one a ‘Jew’ at all:

Rom 2:28  For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh:
Rom 2:29  But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God.

Christ had made these statements also:

Mar 9:1  And he said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That there be some of them that stand here, which shall not taste of death, till they have seen the kingdom of God come with power.

Mar 14:25  Verily I say unto you, I will drink no more of the fruit of the vine, until that day that I drink it new in the kingdom of God.

The apostles Peter, James and John, “saw the kingdom of God come with power” the very next week as the very next verse explains with the conjunction ‘and’:

Mar 9:2  And after six days Jesus taketh with him Peter, and James, and John, and leadeth them up into an high mountain apart by themselves: and he was transfigured before them.
Mar 9:3  And his raiment became shining, exceeding white as snow; so as no fuller on earth can white them.
Mar 9:4  And there appeared unto them Elias with Moses: and they were talking with Jesus.
Mar 9:5  And Peter answered and said to Jesus, Master, it is good for us to be here: and let us make three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias.
Mar 9:6  For he wist not what to say; for they were sore afraid.
Mar 9:7 And there was a cloud that overshadowed them: and a voice came out of the cloud, saying, This is my beloved Son: hear him.
Mar 9:8  And suddenly, when they had looked round about, they saw no man any more, save Jesus only with themselves.
Mar 9:9  And as they came down from the mountain, he charged them that they should tell no man what things they had seen, till the Son of man were risen from the dead.
Mar 9:10  And they kept that saying with themselves, questioning one with another what the rising from the dead should mean.

The apostles did not understand the meaning of “rising from the dead”. How could they possibly understand what “the kingdom of God is within you” meant?

There is no doubt the disciples and the apostles all thought the physical kingdom of God was imminent in their day. They were not yet given to understand the full meaning of “the kingdom of God is within you” (Luke 17:20-21).

Judaea and Samaria are both within Israel, and there is yet no understanding of the gospel going to the Gentiles. Peter has not yet been sent to the house of Cornelius the Gentile Roman Centurion, and Saul of Tarsus has not yet been converted. In fact, it is at this point Saul makes the persecution of all Christians his life’s occupation:

Act 8:2  And devout men carried Stephen to his burial, and made great lamentation over him.
Act 8:3  As for Saul, he made havock of the church, entering into every house, and haling men and women committed them to prison.
Act 8:4  Therefore they that were scattered abroad went every where [within Israel] preaching the word.
Act 8:5  Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria, and preached Christ unto them.

Christ had earlier told His disciples they were not to go to the Samaritans. He commissioned them to tell only the house of Israel that “The kingdom of heaven is at hand”:

Mat 10:5  These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not:
Mat 10:6  But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
Mat 10:7  And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand.

This is the first time anyone has gone to speak to the Samaritans since Christ spent a few days with them when He witnessed to the woman at Jacob’s well:

Joh 4:28  The woman then left her waterpot, and went her way into the city, and saith to the men,
Joh 4:29  Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did: is not this the Christ?
Joh 4:30  Then they went out of the city, and came unto him.

Joh 4:39  And many of the Samaritans of that city believed on him for the saying of the woman, which testified, He told me all that ever I did.
Joh 4:40  So when the Samaritans were come unto him, they besought him that he would tarry with them: and he abode there two days.
Joh 4:41  And many more believed because of his own word;
Joh 4:42  And said unto the woman, Now we believe, not because of thy saying: for we have heard him ourselves, and know that this is indeed the Christ, the Saviour of the world.

Christ had been well received by the Samaritans, and Philip capitalized upon the work Christ had done:

Act 8:6  And the people with one accord gave heed unto those things which Philip spake, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did.
Act 8:7  For unclean spirits, crying with loud voice, came out of many that were possessed with them: and many taken with palsies, and that were lame, were healed.
Act 8:8  And there was great joy in that city.

Here we are given another example of a Jew who believed in Christ but did not abide in His word as Christ told us in:

Joh 8:30  As he spake these words, many believed on him.

It certainly doesn’t happen overnight, but it is only in our patience that the words of Christ within us give us dominion over sin in our lives:

Luk 21:19  In your patience possess ye your souls.

Joh 8:31  Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed;
Joh 8:32  And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

We are now introduced to just such a Jewish believer; one who believes in Christ but is not given to abide in and “continue in [His] Word”:

Act 8:9  But there was a certain man, called Simon, which beforetime in the same city used sorcery, and bewitched the people of Samaria, giving out that himself was some great one:
Act 8:10  To whom they all gave heed, from the least to the greatest, saying, This man is the great power of God.
Act 8:11  And to him they had regard, because that of long time he had bewitched them with sorceries.

These “sorceries” are the same “sorceries” associated with Babylon the great, the mother of harlots:

Isa 47:1  Come down, and sit in the dust, O virgin daughter of Babylon, sit on the ground: there is no throne, O daughter of the Chaldeans: for thou shalt no more be called tender and delicate.
Isa 47:2  Take the millstones, and grind meal: uncover thy locks, make bare the leg, uncover the thigh, pass over the rivers.
Isa 47:3  Thy nakedness shall be uncovered, yea, thy shame shall be seen: I will take vengeance, and I will not meet thee as a man.
Isa 47:4  As for our redeemer, the LORD of hosts is his name, the Holy One of Israel.
Isa 47:5  Sit thou silent, and get thee into darkness, O daughter of the Chaldeans: for thou shalt no more be called, The lady of kingdoms.
Isa 47:6  I was wroth with my people, I have polluted mine inheritance, and given them into thine hand: thou didst shew them no mercy; upon the ancient hast thou very heavily laid thy yoke.
Isa 47:7  And thou saidst, I shall be a lady for ever: so that thou didst not lay these things to thy heart, neither didst remember the latter end of it.
Isa 47:8  Therefore hear now this, thou that art given to pleasures, that dwellest carelessly, that sayest in thine heart, I am, and none else beside me; I shall not sit as a widow, neither shall I know the loss of children:

Rev 18:7  How much she hath glorified herself, and lived deliciously, so much torment and sorrow give her: for she saith in her heart, I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow.

Isa 47:9  But these two things shall come to thee in a moment in one day, the loss of children, and widowhood: they shall come upon thee in their perfection for the multitude of thy sorceries, and for the great abundance of thine enchantments.

Rev 18:8  Therefore shall her plagues come in one day, death, and mourning, and famine; and she shall be utterly burned with fire: for strong is the Lord God who judgeth her.
Rev 18:9  And the kings of the earth, who have committed fornication and lived deliciously with her, shall bewail her, and lament for her, when they shall see the smoke of her burning,

Isa 47:10  For thou hast trusted in thy wickedness: thou hast said, None seeth me. Thy wisdom and thy knowledge, it hath perverted thee; and thou hast said in thine heart, I am, and none else beside me.
Isa 47:11  Therefore shall evil come upon thee; thou shalt not know from whence it riseth: and mischief shall fall upon thee; thou shalt not be able to put it off: and desolation shall come upon thee suddenly, which thou shalt not know.
Isa 47:12  Stand now with thine enchantments, and with the multitude of thy sorceries, wherein thou hast laboured from thy youth; if so be thou shalt be able to profit, if so be thou mayest prevail.

Rev 18:23  And the light of a candle shall shine no more at all in thee; and the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride shall be heard no more at all in thee: for thy merchants were the great men of the earth; for by thy sorceries were all nations deceived.
Rev 18:24  And in her was found the blood of prophets, and of saints, and of all that were slain upon the earth.

Isa 47:13  Thou art wearied in the multitude of thy counsels. Let now the astrologers, the stargazers, the monthly prognosticators, stand up, and save thee from these things that shall come upon thee.
Isa 47:14  Behold, they shall be as stubble; the fire shall burn them; they shall not deliver themselves from the power of the flame: there shall not be a coal to warm at, nor fire to sit before it.
Isa 47:15  Thus shall they be unto thee with whom thou hast laboured, even thy merchants, from thy youth: they shall wander every one to his quarter; none shall save thee.

This is the spirit of this ‘Samaritan Simon’. He believed in Christ, but he did so for personal gain and not to glorify God and not for the benefit of his brothers and sisters in Christ. This is the spirit of all the prosperity ministers who cannot see that the apostle John says these words in Isaiah 47 are actually referring to Babylon the Great as “that great city wherein our Lord was crucified”, and Paul tells  us that “Jerusalem which now is and is in bondage with her children” is the anti-type of Hagar, the bondwoman and her son Ishmael:

Gal 4:24  Which things are an allegory: for these are the two covenants; the one from the mount Sinai, which gendereth to bondage, which is Agar.
Gal 4:25  For this Agar is mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children.
Gal 4:26  But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all.

Rev 11:8  And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified.

Physical Jerusalem typifies the Lord’s apostate church. This is what the Lord says of His apostate people:

Luk 13:33  Nevertheless I must walk to day, and to morrow, and the day following [I must get to Jerusalem]: for it cannot be that a prophet perish out of Jerusalem.

Rev 18:24  And in her was found the blood of prophets, and of saints, and of all that were slain upon the earth.

Act 8:12  But when they believed Philip preaching the things concerning the kingdom of God, and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women.

This is physical water baptism, which is a mere ritual and like physical circumcision, does nothing to change the heart and mind. The church in this reformation dispensation is still living under the law of Moses as we all first do. We all know at the beginning of our calling that Christ has made all the changes He proclaimed in Matthew 5-7 where He quoted the law of Moses every time He said, “Ye have heard that it hath been said by them of old time… love your neighbor and hate your enemy… eye for eye and tooth for tooth… swear only by the name of the Lord your God.”  Then He reformed the law of Moses with the words of His New Covenant when He taught saying… “but I say unto you… love your enemy… swear not at all… resist not evil… turn the other cheek…” etc. Philip and all the apostles are aware of those changes, but if Christ had not spoken to the Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well, they would have been hesitant to go in unto Samaritans who were Jews who worshipped in Bethel and in Dan where Jereboam, the son of Nebat, has erected two golden calves and had established a separate society with separate festivals to keep the people of Israel from worshipping at Jerusalem. “By little and by little” the Lord is opening the eyes and hearts of his Jewish disciples to accept the all-encompassing depth and width of His kingdom.

Act 8:13  Then Simon himself believed also: and when he was baptized, he continued with Philip, and wondered, beholding the miracles and signs which were done.

There is all the proof needed to demonstrate that water baptism changes nothing. Simon the sorcerer “was baptized”, but as we will see in our next study, he was not at all converted and still had the same self-centered heart and mind. ‘Believing in Christ’ does not make one a “disciple indeed”. A true “disciple indeed” will continue in and abide and remain in the Lord’s words and His doctrines through thick and thin and through persecution and much tribulation:

Joh 8:30  As he spake these words, many believed on him.
Joh 8:31  Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed;
Joh 8:32  And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
Joh 8:33  They answered him, We be Abraham’s seed, and were never in bondage to any man: how sayest thou, Ye shall be made free? [‘We are professing Christians, how sayest thou, Ye shall be made free?’]
Joh 8:34  Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin.
Joh 8:35  And the servant abideth [of sin] not in the house for ever: but the Son abideth ever.
Joh 8:36  If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.

According to the BT+ the name ‘Simon’ is defined as ‘Peter’ or ‘petros’, meaning ‘stone’. As with every word, there is both a positive and a negative application. Simon Peter was a “lively stone” in the Lord’s house. Simon the sorcerer of Samaria has been given a “stony heart” which is not revealed to be changed to “a heart of flesh” in this age.

Eze 36:26  A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.
Eze 36:27  And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.

1Pe 2:5  Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.

This Samaritan ‘Simon’ is given the same name as ‘Simon Peter’, but as we will see, he is not at all Peter.

Like Ananias and Sapphira, who sold their land and lied about how much of the proceeds they had given to the church, this ‘Simon of Samaria’ is introduced to us with the conjunction ‘but’. Here are those introductions side by side:

Ananias the liar:

Act 5:1  But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession,
Act 5:2  And kept back part of the price, his wife also being privy to it, and brought a certain part, and laid it at the apostles’ feet.

Simon the sorcerer:

Act 8:9  But there was a certain man, called Simon, which beforetime in the same city used sorcery, and bewitched the people of Samaria, giving out that himself was some great one:

Both Ananias and Simon of Samaria sought preeminence among the Lord’s people without having a humble servant’s spirit, which is the spirit of Christ.

Nevertheless, the work of the holy spirit through Philip was used by the Lord to begin to open the eyes of the apostles to the fact that physical Jerusalem was not the center of the universe, and Peter and John were sent to Samaria to further the Lord’s work among the apostate Jewish Samaritans. When I use the word ‘apostate’ here I am not referring to apostatizing from the faith of Christ. I use it to refer to the fact that the Samaritans had apostatized from keeping the holy days of Moses in Jerusalem as the woman at the well told Christ:

Joh 4:19  The woman saith unto him, Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet.
Joh 4:20  Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.

The Samaritans were the despised outcasts of the people of God in Christ’s day, just as David was an outsider in the days when King Saul sought to kill him.

Act 8:14  Now when the apostles which were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent unto them Peter and John:
Act 8:15  Who, when they were come down, prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Ghost:
Act 8:16  (For as yet he was fallen upon none of them: only they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.)
Act 8:17  Then laid they their hands on them, and they received the Holy Ghost.
Act 8:18  And when Simon saw that through laying on of the apostles’ hands the Holy Ghost was given, he offered them money,
Act 8:19  Saying, Give me also this power, that on whomsoever I lay hands, he may receive the Holy Ghost.
Act 8:20  But Peter said unto him, Thy money perish with thee, because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money.

Without adding to or taking away from the words of scripture, we can observe that both Philip and the apostles, Peter and John, were gracious toward Simon, until his actions revealed what was actually in his heart. Simon had been baptized in water by Philip, but Peter and John did not lay hands on him to receive the holy spirit. Peter had discerned that Simon was not a man who had been dragged to the Lord by the Lord’s chastening grace. Rather this ‘Simon’ still possessed a “stony heart” which actually believed that he had something to offer the Lord, and he had no idea why the apostles were not the least bit interested in his money.

In our next study we will see that the apostle Peter tells Simon to repent of this presumptuous spirit and pray that the Lord will forgive him of “this wickedness”. Peter has learned and now knows the Truth of the Lord’s words which were spoken while He was still here in a body of flesh and blood, when He told His disciples:

Joh 6:41  The Jews then murmured at him, because he said, I am the bread which came down from heaven.
Joh 6:42  And they said, Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How is it then that he saith, I came down from heaven?
Joh 6:43  Jesus therefore answered and said unto them, Murmur not among yourselves.
Joh 6:44  No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw [G1670: ‘helkuo’, drag] him: and I will raise him up at the last day.
Joh 6:45  It is written in the prophets, And they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me.

Every part of the body of Christ is first “taught of God” and is “dragged [to] Him” before being brought into His corporate body. This principle applied to Peter himself:

Mat 16:13  When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?
Mat 16:14  And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets.
Mat 16:15  He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am?
Mat 16:16  And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.
Mat 16:17  And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.

Peter knew and understood the truth of those words of the Lord, and he immediately rebuked this spirit which assumes it can buy off the God of Creation. “Thy money perish with you because you have thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money” is not a solicitous spirit one might have as he bears with the weak. The holy spirit has given Peter to understand that this person is not yet being shown who Christ is. Neither Christ nor His Christ will be bribed.

Php 3:18  (For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ:
Php 3:19  Whose end is destruction [of their old man], whose God is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things.)
Php 3:20  For our conversation [G4175: ‘politeuma’, citizenship] is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ:
Php 3:21  Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself.

‘Enemies of the cross of Christ’ despise hearing of His judgments. They much prefer to hear smooth things (Isa 30:10), telling themselves they are ‘encouraging and helping others’ when the truth is they are doing others a disservice and spiritually spoiling those who are weak in the faith by failing to prepare them for the promised persecutions which come with being faithful to Christ and His doctrines.

Isa 30:10  Which say to the seers, See not; and to the prophets, Prophesy not unto us right things, speak unto us smooth things, prophesy deceits:

2Ti 3:12  Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.
2Ti 3:13  But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.
2Ti 3:14  But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them;

The gospel of Christ is not the smooth-talking enchantments and sorceries of Simon of Samaria. Rather, the true gospel of Christ acknowledges that serving Christ in this present evil age entails “fiery trials… suffering with [Him] and much persecution”. The gospel of Christ also includes the promise of the reward of being manifested as the sons of God, a  promise which far outweighs all the hardships of our faithfulness in this present evil age:

Rom 8:17  And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.
Rom 8:18  For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.
Rom 8:19  For the earnest expectation of the creature [mankind] waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God.

Rom 8:35  Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?
Rom 8:36  As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.
Rom 8:37  Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.
Rom 8:38  For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,
Rom 8:39  Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.